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ViewQwest opens cyber security centre

Local firm ViewQwest has set up its first security operations centre (SOC) here as it jostles for a share of the lucrative cyber security market.

The Internet service provider plans to invest up to $3 million over the next two years in the facility to allow it to go after bigger clients and take on Singtel, StarHub and M1, all of which have launched their own centres with wider offerings.

Most of ViewQwest's spending will go on hiring of security personnel for the centre, which has been running for three months. It is currently manned by 10 people.

The new SOC, which provides managed security monitoring, coincides with the launch of ViewQwest's new Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) service.

He said companies must rely on more than just firewalls to defend data, because the increasing use of personal mobile devices to access corporate information in the cloud is creating greater security risks.

Take ViewQwest's CASB service, supplied by third-party vendor Bitglass. It works in the background to scan all the files moving between users' devices and the cloud servers to filter out threats but without requiring users to install additional software on their phones.

Mr Tony Jarvis, chief strategist of security software firm Check Point Software Technologies, said the risk of malware infection has multiplied owing to two trends.

One is the greater use of cloud e-mail and storage services. Danger also comes from letting employees use personal devices to access official resources.

Before, only company-issued computers could do this.

Security experts are warning against such practices in light of the global spread of malware WannaCry and NotPetya that struck governments and health care and port operators over the past three months.

Even if the use of personal devices is allowed, employing a security solution is crucial, said Ms Sylvia Ng, South-east Asia general manager at Kaspersky Lab, a security specialist.